President Muhammadu Buhari has wondered where criminals keep sourcing their weapons despite his administration shutting down the nation's border for months.
President Buhari's land border policies received widespread criticism especially from the southern part of the country where he is accused of strict enforcement, while northern borders are secretly kept open.
The most criticism came from former Aviation Minister, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, who criticised Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo for saying Nigerians should endure the pains associated with the closure of Nigeria’s borders, alleging that those suffering the effect of the closure are southerners as borders in the North are not shut.
Osinbajo at the time, had begged Nigerians to bear with the government over the closure of the border with neighbouring countries, saying that the border closure is in the interest of the country.
"Nigerians should endure the pains of border closure"- @ProfOsinbajo (@Thisday October 26, 2019).— Femi Fani-Kayode (@realFFK) October 26, 2019
Point of correction Mr. VP! You mean southerners should endure the pains of border closure. All borders in the north are open!
Reacting, Fani-Kayode in a tweet on his official Twitter page faulted Osinbajo’s statement.
He wrote, “Point of correction Mr. VP! You mean southerners should endure the pains of border closure. All borders in the north are open!”
There were also concerns that the decision of the Buhari administration to shut down the border, was a ploy to secretly allow the unchecked inflow of dangerous herdsmen through the Northern borders. But, the President now wonders how illegal arms made their way into the country.
The president who spoke yesterday at a farewell meeting with the outgoing special representative of the United Nations secretary-general and head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), Mohammed Ibn Chambas, fingers the instability of Libya as the cause of the inflows of illegal arms and ammunition into the country.
Buhari said Muammar Gadaffi held a grip on power in Libya for 42 years by recruiting armed guards from different countries, who then escaped with their arms when the Libyan strongman was killed.
“They didn’t learn any other skill, than to shoot and kill. So, they are a problem all over the Sahel countries today.
“We closed our land borders here for more than a year, but arms and ammunition continued to flow illegally. As far as Libya remains unstable, so will the problem remain.
“We have to cope with the problems of development, as we can’t play hop, step and jump. But we will eventually overcome those problems,” a statement by presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, quoted the president as saying.